Determination of the Few
by Doodling Shadows
Summary: In the past, Voltron was formed from a variety of alien species and now is no different. These five will fight for their lives to come together and become what they were meant to be: the Paladins of Voltron! (Darkish AU where Voltron was formed under far more… unusual circumstances. Galra!Keith, Altean!Lance, Olkari!Pidge&Family, and Balmeran!Hunk)
1. Damn Galra and Escape Plans

Determination of the Few

VOLTRON AU

Summary:

A darkish AU where Voltron was formed under far more… unusual circumstances. Galra!Keith, Altean!Lance, Olkari!Pidge&Family, and Balmeran!Hunk

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Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Voltron or have any rights to its production. The rights of Voltron: Legendary Defender belong to Dreamworks and Netflix, and this story was written purely for entertainment.

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Chapter 1: Damn Galra and Escape Plans

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What was he doing? Why was his life so… so screwed up?!

Flesh and metal routinely impacted the reinforced Galra steel that enclosed him. He cursed his stupidity. He cursed the Galra. He cursed everything and anything that could have contributed to his capture. It wasn't until his flesh knuckles had torn and wept fresh blood did the enraged adult stop his assault on the unforgiving prison walls. His ragged breathing echoed within the small space, only reminding him of the bruises and scrapes littered across his person and restricting his already slightly panicked breathing.

How long? _HOW LONG?_

"Hey…" whispered a quiet, breathy voice, "calm down, Shiro; you are going to... bring the guards back if you continue any longer. I don't… know about you, but my body can't take anymore of their… treatment."

Shiro turned towards the other inhabitant of his cell block with sympathy etched into his features. Whilst Shiro was made of tight and compact muscle that could take a beating, the reed-thin frame of his cellmate had been reduced to tatters only after one session. He bit his lip and slid down the wall guiltily, only slightly cradling his torn knuckles. He would be fine, he was sure, but what about him?

A sigh ghosted through the cramped space. "C'mere. We don't want you to get an infection."

Shiro looked up at the Olkari with muted surprise, trying to feign strength by gritting his teeth. "I've faced worse than a few bloody knuckles in my life. I'll be fine, Matt. You should reserve your energy instead of worrying about me."

"You humans…" "Matt", aka Mattikeer, sighed before readjusting himself in the far back corner of their cellblock. Shiro's gaze was drawn to the delicate frame of his friend, and couldn't help taking in the battered Olkari's features for the millionth time since his confinement.

Matt had a very slight frame coupled with green tinted skin, which had been once vibrant but had become tinted with yellow over time. There was still some baby fat left on his face, but most had been weaned away during confinement, leaving marginally hollow cheeks and large, hazel eyes slightly sunk into their white-rimmed sockets. Two antenna-like leaves sprouted from his forehead, lying haphazardly off to the side of his face and almost withered-looking. Whenever Shiro had inquired as to why that was, Matt had dodged the question with false strength. He was sure the kid didn't want him worrying about him, and that only served to make him worry more.

Who wouldn't worry when you were stuck in a Galra cell far away from home, with your only hesitant friend dying before your eyes? Despite the fact that Matt had been taken here before Shiro, he had a hard time pushing down his instinct to protect the boy—for he looked at most sixteen to Shiro's early- to mid-twenties

A low growl vibrated in Shiro's throat. The Galra were truly despicable beasts. They only cared for power… they even willingly treated their own like crap if the situation permitted it. He sighed, not for the first time wishing he could return to his home, preferably with Matt in tow.

It was long after their cell block lights dimmed that Shiro finally succumbed to sleep, and it was long before they turned on and he awoke that his knuckles were healed by a very friendly Olkari. Shiro didn't bring up the subject of his disappearing bruises to Matt even as the boy gained an even yellower tint, for fear of losing his only friend. He refused to acknowledge the fact that even if he didn't confront his friend, he may lose him soon anyway.

If a tear or two slid from Shiro's eyes during the nights he was healed, Matt didn't see them.

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One morning—or what he assumed was morning—it was hard to tell—Shiro had been dragged off to have more work done on his non-flesh arm. Ever since he had been locked in the prison cell with Matt, he had been forced to deal with several colosseum-like battles. The first time, it felt almost good to let off steam, but as soon as they tried to put Matt into the fight, he lost it. After his blowout and subsequent practical slaughter of the colosseum opponents, he was forced to fight routinely. The first time, it was to blow off steam… after… he fought to protect Matt.

And every few days, he would go in for minor repairs, and today… something was up.

"AAAAUGH!" Shiro convulsed under his restraints, trying to fight against the toxins they were injecting into his body. "Y-you took my hand! What more do you want?!"

Get away, get away, GET AWAY!

"Stop!" The vial of toxin was roughly slapped from the grunt's hand by the superior Galra. "I want him awake enough to feel this."

Shiro felt like his mind was spinning as he watched the succeeding actions unfold. The superior took out the two grunts with little effort and began to mess with his restraints, muttering something to him Shiro could barely understand.

"Listen to me. We don't have much time." His vision darkened before the Galra slapped him. "Wake up! Zarkon has located a Lion of Voltron on your planet Earth. You must get it before he does!"

Wha… Vol.. tron?

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"I've planted a bomb to cover your escape. Get to a pod, now!"

"Who are you?" The world spun as he hefted himself on his arms, and he took a shaky breath to prevent any upchuck. His body trembled, but he stared into the Galra's eyes with as much determination as he could muster.

The Galra stared back with just as much ferocity before sighing. "I am Ulas… now, come on!" Before Shiro could comprehend what was going on, he was being yanked off the table and across the room. "Zarkon will know that I have released you so I must disappear, but if you survive, go to the coordinates in your arm. Remember: the Blade of Marmora is with you."

"Why… Why are you helping me?"

"As a fighter, and a leader, you give hope. Now, hurry, Earth needs you! … We all do." With that, the Galra began to dash off, but before he could make it too far, Shiro grasped Ulas' leg.

"Wh… What about Mattikeer? I am not leaving without him."

"Your friend has already been taken care of. Now go before all is compromised!" Ulas removed the appendage from his leg and hurried down the hall, leaving Shiro alone in the silent hallway.

Ulas' words did little to settle the anxiety twisting in Shiro's stomach, but he knew his position was one where he couldn't risk returning to his cell block to check on his friend. Even though he did not like it, he had to trust the Galra was telling the truth.

Supporting himself on the metal walls, Shiro began his long and arduous trek to the escape pods.

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 _The Blade of Marmora was with him. The Blade of Marmora was with him. The Blade of Mamora was with him._

Keittek continued to repeat his mantra in his head as he stiffly made his way down the hall towards his goal. His neck fur prickled with unease and his dark pupils set in molten amber darted around, trying to keep everything within sight. Although he refused to admit it later, he jumped more than once when a sentry patrol passed nearby. Sometimes he was surprised The Blade of Mamora picked him to be a part of their ranks. Although he had great reflexes, he had the nasty side effect of paranoia and he couldn't imagine why anyone would want such a pathetic half-breed like him considering- Keittek grit his teeth and counted to ten, feebly attempting to disperse his self-deprecating thoughts.

He didn't have time to beat himself up, he had a mission to accomplish!

 _Cell 403... cell 405... cell 407... aha! Cellblock 409._

Fingering the swiped security card in his possession, he inhaled a deep breath. With a flick of his wrist, the card was scanned and the door slid open with a silent _woosh_.

Inside, the cell was dark and cramped, possessing nothing but four walls and two metal cots. The cell didn't even have an overhead light- or it once did before it had been removed for some unknown reason. In the far corner, behind the right cot, a small Olkari laid huddled and shivering with fear.

 _Bingo!_

Making sure no patrols were coming this way, Keittek slid into the cell and closed it behind him. Once within, he made his way over to the huddled figure, making sure his steps were audible so as not to surprise the Olkari. By the way that the alien flinched with each step, he didn't think fear was much better than surprise. He let out a deep sigh before finally speaking.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Mattikeer."

"... G-g-go away!"

Keittek grunted in irritation, his ears twitching on the sides of his head. "We don't have time for this, 'Matt'! Shiro is waiting for you!"

The Olkari froze before moving his head so he could stare at the Galra with dark, hooded eyes. A shiver stiffened his spine as he stared at the prisoner, his eyes locked in a staring contest with the deep pools of fear and anger across the cell.

"What did you do to Shiro?"

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Hello, lovely readers!

I am a huge Voltron fan as you may guess, and after watching Voltron: Legendary Defender S2, I couldn't help this little plot bunny that hopped into my head, so here I am~!

This fic was partially inspired by Warmth and Chill, written by the amazing Rahar Moonfire.

The improvised names like Mattikeer and Keittek are completely made up using syllables to form a name that both recognized their canon names and their new heritage. Most characters will have nicknames that are basically their canon names, with a few acceptions.

Anywho, as you may see, I am not a very... consistent... author. But I hope to fix that! I could throw excuses at you all day, but instead, I am going to buckle down and ride this past my hype. This first chapter is fairly short (~1800 words) but I hope in the future my chapters will reach ~6000 in length (my personal best) consistently.

Thank you for reading, and reviews are always welcome! ;D

_-*Doodling Shadows*-_


	2. Where's the Bomb?

Determination

VOLTRON AU

Summary: A darkish AU where Voltron was formed under far more… unusual circumstances. Galra!Keith, Altean!Lance, Olkari!Pidge&Family, and Balmeran!Hunk

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Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Voltron or have any rights to its production. The rights of _Voltron: Legendary Defender_ belong to Dreamworks and Netflix, and this story was written purely for entertainment.

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The last chapter was a quick, two-hour write and dash, and I had little time to review the episodes before I wrote the little plot I had down. Therefore, what I wrote was not solid, and upon closer inspection of episode 3 of season 2, I realized that my writing veered way too far off canon and I did not like that. So, I rewrote the last half so that it would work better and feel a bit smoother. Please reread that before continuing, or else I fear you will have very little idea what is going on. :3 (Only applies to those who read before 10 AM East Central Time, January 22, 2017)

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Chapter 2: Where's the Bomb?!

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Mattikeer's heart stuttered when he recognized the presence that had entered his cell. From the corner of his eye, he recognized the forbidding black and purple shape of a Galra, it's yellow eyes glinting in the darkness, gifted with night-vision.

"...Mattikeer."

"G-g-go away!" _Leave me alone!_ No more pain, he's had enough. He had to keep his strength for Shiro. Mattikeer knew he was doomed eventually- an Olkari without the presence of the sun would quickly lose energy and then life- but Shiro still had a chance. He couldn't give up until Shiro escaped, and for Shiro to escape, Mattikeer had to keep him healthy and heal his major injuries.

"... Shiro… you!"

The Olkari froze at the mention of Shiro and raised his eyes in weak defiance. Foreign heat boiled within his body as ice settled on his core. What had this Galra done to his precious friend? Rage and fear twisted in his trunk and he let another uncontrollable shiver shake him to his roots. With so little strength to his thin frame, Mattikeer had little chance of going up against the tall and defined Galra, let alone pick himself up from his huddled position.

"What did you do to Shiro?" he demanded with as much muster as he could manage. The Olkari may not have physical strength, but he had come this far without snapping under the Galra's confinement. He would not let this new presence scare him into submission, not when his friend's life may be on the line. The Olkari weren't compared to trees as a poke at their culture; The Olkari were flexible but never breaking, giving but also unforgiving.

In his haze of pain, Mattikeer barely registered the next words to come out of the Galra's mouth, but when he did he immediately tried to gather himself to his feet.

"What do you mean your partner has already taken care of him!" he hissed, grasping his cot for balance. "Are you here to 'take care of me' too?! You Galra are not worth the empire you have built upon or the planets you have conquered. You are the lowest of trash in this universe."

Mattikeer lurched to his feet and then tipped forward, losing the delicate balance he had just barely maintained. His eyes widened as his legs gave out from underneath him, but before he could crash to the metal floor, firm arms wrapped around his middle and maneuvered to scoop him up. The world spun as his velocity was switched, and when he could open his eyes without throwing up, he saw that he no longer had his feet planted on the floor.

He heard a distinct mutter of "We definitely don't have time for this…" before the Galra holding him dashed out the door and he had to fight to keep himself from passing out.

It's unneeded to say that he lost.

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Shit! Shit! Shit! Where was the fucking bomb?! Ulas, you are late!

Keittek growled low in his throat, ears pricked for any and all sounds that came bouncing his way. With an unconscious Olkari strung over his shoulder, he was in a very bad position to encounter opposition right now. As it was, he had to dart in and out of alcoves to avoid the sentries that plagued the halls he traveled. Why did the cell have to be so far away from the escape pods? Would he make it in time to deliver the Olkami, or would the human be forced to leave without his friend?

The thought pinched his heart and made him reflexively hiss. Shit. He could hear the sentry that had just passed stop and turn on its heel.

He swiveled on his feet and made a mad dash for the opposite alcove just as the sentry turned the corner.

"Halt and identify yourself!"

SHIT! ... Screw it. He was taking too long as it was.

With a well-aimed kick to the head, the approaching sentry was taken down, head detaching in a shower of sparks. Keittek allowed a smug smirk dance across his features as he readjusted his cargo and ran towards the escape pods. Who cared if he took down a few sentries? They were worthless and really only good for overwhelming opponents. They had very little tactical skill or intelligence. Unfortunately, while the Galra empire was large, the Galra population was not nearly as immense, therefore robots were needed to fill the gaps.

Keittek scoffed. No wonder the higher ups were so willing to throw away soldiers. Any average soldier could be replaced with a robot easily and quickly. The thought made him snarl; he hated those people the most.

By the time he had reached mere hallways away from the pods, he had taken down about eight sentry bots and felt damn proud of himself for doing so.

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Whatever they were injecting him must have been made for an Ox. Even now, the world darkened at the edges and tilted precariously, threatening to make him throw up whatever inhabited his stomach. His mind was hazy and disoriented, and it was only instinct and his own cognitive map that allowed him to find his way, and even then it was just barely.

A smattering of footsteps echoed close by and he hurried to push himself against the wall behind him. Sickening panic nearly sent him over the edge, but a few deep breaths through his nose prevented him from passing out, pissing himself, hurling, or any combination thereof.

 _One... Two... Three... Four... Five... GO!_

Only worried about the Galra, Shiro darted out from the side hallway and subsequently smacked into a cargo cart. Several canisters fell from the cart from the force of his impact, and it was only through sheer luck that he kept his balance and stomach. He had no time to gain his bearings and instead made a mad dash for the escape pods several meters away.

Shiro was sent stumbling as another unforeseen variable plowed into him with the force of a madman. His body smacked the ground and he grunted in pain before finally losing his lunch, the pain and motion tipping his nausea over the brink. He heaved several times before finally getting enough bearing to recognize his situation.

The ringing of clashing metal assaulted his sensitive ears and caused his head to ring as he peeked at the quickly finishing battle. What looked like a relatively unarmed Galra was winning against the armed guards with little more than a _knife._ Ok, he must certainly be having a hallucination. First of all, that was a _Galra_ protecting him, and second- he paused at the scrap of green in his peripheral vision. His neck nearly snapped and he was sure to being feeling the effects of whiplash later, but that _was Matt, right there!_

His amazement had him staring at the small Olkari for what seemed like eons until something yanked him to his feet.

"Get up and run," growled the Galra supporting his weight, irritation flickering at what Shiro guessed was his blank expression. "I'll get the Olkari, but I am not able to babysit two of you at once. Am I correct in assuming that you can handle yourself?" Shiro nodded numbly before the Galra tossed him forward. "Then go! More guards are on their way!"

Shiro stumbled almost drunkenly before gaining his feet. His head was fuzzy and his feet were lead, and he barely took five steps before his arm was being yanked again.

"Pathetic."

So ensued the final lap for the escape pod. Several pink lasers fired right by his head, and he jerked sluggishly to avoid them. If it hadn't been for the Galra who had captured his arm, he would have stumbled and died by now. His bleary eyes traveled to the messy mop of his savior, and then to the Olkari slung over his shoulder. Matt was very obviously unconscious, but Shiro felt a weight lift off his shoulders at the boy's relatively unharmed state, and he felt just the slightest bit of strength return to his legs. If he had been forced to leave without Matt... he wasn't sure if he'd stay sane. Just the thought of leaving the fragile boy in an environment so obviously killing him had red hot anger flowing through his muscles. Through determination and anger, he was able to push his body past what it was feeling right now and run towards the pod with all the energy he could manage. If anyone deserved to live, it would be them, and he would make sure they would leave this hell and return home. Both of them.

Just as they reached the pod and the Galra slammed his palm upon the activation button, Shiro felt a laser beam slice a hole in his ear, and he cursed, turning angry, hate-filled eyes towards what he assumed was the offending Galra.

Before he could spit out any more profanities spewing from his drugged mind, he was jerked into the pod and fell unceremoniously to the metal floor. The door closed with a satisfying click and their pod took off. Seconds later, Shiro's mind caught up with the exhausted state his body was in and he allowed himself to relax and take deep, gulping breaths interspersed with what he could only place as borderline insane laughter.

The thud of flesh against metal echoed through the pod and the Galra cursed profusely. Shiro zoned out halfway through the enraged alien's rant, only keying back in when he heard "Damn Ulas! Where were the fucking bombs?! You nearly had us all killed!"

 _Well... we're all alive now, aren't we?_

With the Galra's rant servicing as background noise, Shiro allowed himself to succumb to sweet subconsciousness.

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Don't expect an update schedule of every day. These last two days were my weekend and with little else to do but write, I had some time on my hands to churn out these two chapters. My plan is to update once a week, either on Saturday or Sunday, around 8 at night, East Central time zone.

Even so, after about twenty-four hours, I garnered almost 100 views, 2 reviews, 8 favorites and 11 follows, which is far more than any of my other stories! Thank you so so so so much, my lovely little shadows!

Also, there will be very little romance within this series. As you may be able to tell, there will be some hints of Shatt (ShiroxMatt) but I am doubtful if I will continue this past a crushing Matt. Otherwise, romance will only be hinted at throughout the story, as I am more likely to view Voltron as one big, happy, disjointed family and not individual pairs. Also, who has time for romance when you are saving the universe?! Haha... Anywho... Sorry, Klance shippers! :3

_-*Doodling Shadows*-_


	3. Returning to Your Roots

Determination

VOLTRON AU

Summary: A darkish AU where Voltron was formed under far more… unusual circumstances. Galra!Keith, Altean!Lance, Olkari!Pidge&Matt, and Balmeran!Hunk

A/N: Enjoy a longer chapter~! :3

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Word Count: ~3900 words

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Chapter 2: Returning to Your Roots (or alternatively: We Mean You No Harm! We Only Want Your Lion!)

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When Mattikeer awoke, it was to a pounding headache that threatened to split his head in two. His body ached and pain sliced through his retinas when he tried to open his eyes to take stock of his situation. Unintentionally, he let out a quiet groan.

"MATT?"

S-stop screaming… Be quiet… please…

"... MaTt? ArE... AwAkE? ... MaTt?"

Mattikeer clenched his eyes despite the pain it brought him and attempted to roll away from the voice, only to be restricted by something at his sides. Warmth briefly enveloped his cheeks for several seconds before disappearing. He shuddered at the lack of warmth; now that he realized it, he was freezing. He groaned and struggled to sit up.

The small change in position sent his head spinning and before he knew it, his consciousness had been devoured by black.

"MaTt?"

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Shiro watched as his friend groaned in discomfort before stilling. It took a few moments to notice the subtle rise and fall of the Olkari's chest. Once Shiro's knew the boy was still alive, he let his eyes wander over his face, searching for anything different from the last time they were together in their cell.

Mattikeer's skin flushed a sickly yellow and his eyes were sunk deep into their sockets. The leaf-like antennae atop his head were wilted and browning, only serving to accent the lackluster maroon gems set into his forehead. His friend seemed brittle and so very breakable as if one gust of wind would snap his twig-like body in two.

Reluctantly, Shiro removed his gaze from the Olkari resting between his legs (the escape pod had a distinct lack of resting spots, so Shiro volunteered to be a pillow). His eyes instead traveled to the Galra sitting cross-legged several feet away. His brow furrowed as he contemplated the enigma that was the Blade of Marmora.

"What do you want?" The Galra growled, ears twitching and sharp eyes boring holes into Shiro.

He hesitated before replying. "What is your name? I'm Shiro."

The Galra grunted. "I know your name, human." The alien then turned his head away and tucked his ears back, sighing. "I… I am Keittek, son of no one."

"No one…" Shiro echoed, contemplative."Well… uh…" he trailed off, unsure how to continue.

Keittek growled at the obvious confusion in the human's voice. "I am an outcast of my species: a half-breed. My… parents… were killed a few weeks into my birth for mixing their blood… And upon execution, you are hence forgotten by the empire. Therefore, in the eyes of the all Galra, I am the son of no one. I am also forbidden to be the father of anyone." The Galra—no, Keittek—refused to meet Shiro's eyes as he spoke, ears pinned to his head and eyes downcast.

Shiro could tell that the subject had been very painful for Keittek to disclose, and instead of silence, he said, "Well, in my culture, I was known as a... bastard child: someone who is born from parents who are not... promised to each other." Shiro released a long breath, pausing before continuing. The Galra had revealed something about his less accepted origins, and he only felt is polite to reveal his own secret considering the subject. "It used to be a very controversial topic on our planet nearly two hundred years ago, but now... I'm not sure how it's viewed exactly."

"... Blood purity is not practiced on Earth?" Shiro now had Keittek's full attention and when he glanced at the Galra, he nearly laughed. Keittek stared at him with large almond eyes, ears perked and expression anxious... yet also hopeful. Shiro was very tempted to pat his head, but resisted for fear of scaring off one of his rescuers.

"Well... In the 1800's and 1900's—oh, about 4000 years after the first hint of an actual society on Earth"—here, he had to answer Keittek's curious inquires into why they only started counting years two thousand years after forming as a species (which the answer was that we had yet to invent numbers)—"humanity had a huge problem with the mixing of blood. As humans, we took a long time to colonize our planet, and so, after thousands of years, we had separated into several different races—subtypes in our human genome would be the easiest way to explain it—that were slightly different in genetic makeup so as to survive in their different environments."

He stopped Keittek before the inquisitive Galra could ask about their planet. The teen was cute and all, but he was speaking to answer the first question, not thirty-three of them.

"Anyway, humanity began to discover technology that allowed them to traverse the planet easier and quicker than before. Due to this, different races were able to intermingle. Since we had separated so long ago, the discovery that there were other races incited fear and a sense of racism—the belief that one race is superior to the other. During this time, the "white" race, or otherwise known as the Caucasians, were the most technologically advanced and therefore believed themselves so far above any other race they came across that they were even willing to use them as slaves."

"Wait, slaves aren't part of the natural order on Earth?"

Shiro sighed. "At one time, yes, but we have since abolished any kind of slavery. Let me get back to my point, please, Keittek?" At the Galra's reluctant nod, he continued. "Slavery ran dormant in several areas of the world, and slaves typically consisted of the race known as the 'blacks' or Africans. Because of racism and slavery, the 'whites' became disgusted at the thought of any romantic or sexual relations between the two, and any found to be born of interracial origins were ostracized and hated. And this didn't just happen with the 'blacks', but it also happened with the Native Americans and Asians.

"This treatment became mush less severe as the years went by and slavery was abolished. It took a very long time, but eventually, we as a human race had become so intermingled and diverse that the idea of blood purity and racism faded. Of course, there is still a gap between social classes—between those who are poor and those who are rich—but I'm not sure if the Galra had social classes, so I won't go into that can of worms. It only leads to the controversial topic of politics... _Anyway..._ Keittek, what's the Galra Empire like?"

Keittek perked at the thought of sharing his own history with the human.

"Well... we don't have... social classes... and I'm not quite sure about how it is for Galras who have taken up places elsewhere, but all Galra employed as sentries or otherwise stationed on ships are given basic necessities and are not allowed to keep personal items on their person. Unless you are in a position of extreme power and authority—and even then it is looked down upon—personal items are considered a mockery of the Galra principles." Keittek took a deep breath before reciting something from memory: "'All Galra are expected to obey orders and support the empire. All Galra are to be prudent, vicious, and most of all, unwanting. A Galra who has ideas is an enemy to the empire.'"

Shiro blinked at the information the Galra was giving him. "Huh... It's pretty strict isn't it."

Keittek huffed. "Yes, it is very strict. It is even harsher for a Galra of my status." The teen visibly deflated and his ears flicked backward once again. Shiro sighed in sympathy. "I did not like it," he eventually continued, "being ridiculed and thought a burden. So, when the Blade of Marmora scouted me, I was hesitant... Who would want a half-breed for an organization that relies on its members' secrecy? I was taught from a young age that I was worthless and only good for sentry-level duties, that I would never be promoted to commander rank or anywhere close for that matter. My parents were unloyal to the empire, and that level of insubordination had to have run through my blood, they said."

Keittek ran a hand through his fluffy, black locks. "It took a while for them to convince me, but luckily for them, I was far too scared to speak about the scouting—of them and of the empire. When they did recruit me... for once, I felt like I found somewhere to belong..." He laughed harshly. "This was my first mission as one of their members, and I barely scraped by... I'm pathetic."

Shiro narrowed his eyes and ordered the Galra to look at him. "Listen to me, Keittek. You saved my life back there. You saved Matt's. Look at him: he is seriously sick and I'm not even sure we will know how to help him. He may be dying, but by completing your mission, you at least scored him several more days than he had before. And for that, I can do nothing but thank you, and I certainly do not view you as worthless. So please, don't underestimate yourself."

The Galra's fur flushed an alarming shade of purple, and Shiro questioned whether those were tear tracks beginning on the teen's cheeks. Keittek's shoulder's rolled forward and his head dropped to his chest, therefore removing his eyes from Shiro's. "... I... uhm.. just... I..." He seemed to choke on his own words for a moment before he muttered, " _Thank you..._ "

Shiro smiled. "No, thank _you_."

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The next time Mattikeer awoke, he felt much better than before. His head still pounded fiercely and his body still ached, but now he could move his head and open his eyes without the same level of slicing pain or disorientation. Cracking open one hazel eye, Mattikeer glanced around as much as he dared, and even then he only skimmed his surroundings, his eyes still bleary and unfocused.

In the far corner ahead of him, a dark shape slumped against a white wall, figure tall and lanky. Amidst the black he could clearly identify, the being also had hints of purple and didn't that make his heartbeat jump. He nearly froze completely before he realized that the figure was clearly asleep by the soft snores. After a moment, he tore his gaze away to stare upwards, where he could clearly hear the distinct breathing of his (previous) cellmate, Shiro.

"Shiro..."

Mattikeer watched as the older man startled awake before glancing at him. "Hey, Matt," Shiro whispered back.

"Hey, Matt," Shiro whispered back. "You're finally cohesive. That's great!"

"H-How long have I been out?" It felt like forever since he had seen the scarred human, and in some part of him, he hoped he hadn't been a burden.

Shiro hummed a bit, glancing around. "It's hard to tell since we are in space, but I'd say about fourteen, maybe fifteen hours. Keittek said we should be arriving at Earth soon." He smiled brightly. "In fact, if you look out the escape pod, you can see our sun! It's really beautiful..."

Mattikeer's brain reeled with the new information. "Keittek? Earth? Escape pod? What are you talking about, Shiro?" His mind searched for answers before grinding to a halt, and he couldn't help the bubble of hope that surfaced in his stomach. "... Wait, you mean... w-we've escaped? For real?"

Shiro's brown eyes glittered and he nodded, a smile stretching his lips. "Yes, Matt. We are on our way to Earth right now."

"But... But how did we escape."

"Ah..." Shiro's smile tugged downwards and he glanced over to the other person on the ship—the Galra, the Olkami realized. "I... had some help."

Realization dawned on Mattikeer and he spluttered as if he had been hit full on with water. "From the Galra?!" The idea was so foreign and wrong to Mattikeer and it made his skin prickle. "Shiro! You can't ever trust them! Look what they have done to us for the last year. What they have done to all they have enslaved! I can't believe you would bare your necks to them and risk us both!"

"I didn't exactly have much of a choice, Matt!" Shiro hissed. "You... you were dying, I was desperate. The Galra were shit to us, I know, but the Galra have also been shit to Keittek and hundreds of other Galra. Ulas and Keittek risked their lives to save us, and without them, we'd likely still be rotting in those cells, and I'd be losing the little sanity I had left in those colosseum battles... And you'd soon be dead. Matt... I had little choice. It was between rolling over and dying or chasing after even the slightest hope of freedom. I chose hope."

Mattikeer didn't speak after that, the stubborn part of him boiling in anger, but the other part doused in cold guilt. Of course, Shiro was thinking not only of himself but of Mattikeer, too.

Shiro sighed, all his righteous anger draining out of him. "... Just... give him a chance."

"... Okay…"

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Keittek's ears twitched slightly as he listened to the breathing of the other two passengers. Although his posture was relaxed and his breathing slow and deep, he was not asleep. Instead, he reviewed all the information he had learned about Earth.

Contrary to Galra belief, the humans were not a race of barely above savage beings. Yes, they were much younger than the Galra (Shiro had explained the theory of evolution and how the human had technically evolved into its current form over one hundred thousand years ago), and they were physically weaker than the Galra, but Keith truly believed that the humans were superior in every way that counted.

Sixteen hours had passed since they escaped from the Galra, and no pursuit came. Instead of worrying, though, they swapped information about their cultures. While the Galra were strong and militaristic, the humans were creative and idealistic. The Galra had rules to keep them bound and loyal, and the Humans had rules to keep oder and peace. The Galra dominated while the Humans helped. Well, at least the "Americans" did, even if they were extremely naive and overconfident because of their hard-won freedom that set the Earth standard. Galra sneered at anyone different and non-Galra, while the Humans had evolved to a level that they embraced differences.

Whoever his father had betrayed the empire for, Keittek hoped it was a human. He liked to think that if he had led a different life, he could have been born on Earth, and had been human. Well, maybe not completely human. Maybe a little Galra.

Keittek let out a soft sigh and opened his eyes to stare at his two companions.

"We should be arriving in about half-an-hour," he said, glancing out the only window to stare at the Sol System's sun. "Anything could happen when we land, so we need to be alert. I suggest that you two get up and ready yourselves."

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Apparently, Galra escape pods were not built to withstand entering a planet's atmosphere. It made little sense that Galra had escape pods anyway when they had a large variety of other craft that were far more... convenient. Either way, the three were thankful they were able to escape at all.

As it was, the inhabitants of the pod were sent tumbling as they breached the Earth's atmosphere, and the pod itself rattled and pitched side to side. Shiro grasped Matt tightly to keep the weak Olkari from hurting himself and braced himself against the pod door, stomach roiling uncomfortably from the perilous descent.

He grunted as the pod rattled violently. "At this rate, we're going to crash!"

"I am aware, but the pod is without any sort of pilot control. We are at its mercy," Keittek grunted as well from his position next to the human.

Shit.

The pod began to heat up considerably as it gained speed by the second, and Shiro cursed once again when he had to jerk his flesh arm away from the pod walls less he was burned. Instead, he held Matt with his flesh arm and braced himself with the cursed Galra-tech arm.

 _At least this thing has_ some _use_ , Shiro thought as the pod hurtled towards Earth.

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Their arrival was heralded by a far echoing explosion and summoned droves of authorities, their flashing lights coagulating into one big blur of blue and red. Tension stretched across the mass of people as they scanned the warped wreckage for any sign of life. Smoke billowed from its still red-hot surface and prevented many from getting too close.

"...wh... -nd... -n't se... -re you... -iro...?"

Murmurs rippled among the people as they were quickly backed up from the craft at the whispers of words within. Authorities swarmed the hunk of metal with guns at the ready. Several moments passed before anything happened, but when it did, it was big.

The _whoosh_ of a door was the only warning they had before three figures stumbled out of the smoke.

A scream of "Aliens!" could be heard among the quickly panicking crowd as the figures were revealed. Propped upon the shoulders of a large, purple beast were two more creatures: a green, cliche-alien-esque being, and a human. The carried beings were unconscious, and the purple beast stumbled under their weight.

At the sight of the beast, people scattered towards their vehicles and the authorities aimed their guns.

"You've got to be shitting me," the beast hissed.

Startled, one of the authorities released the trigger on their gun. A hot beam of blue light pierced the beast's shoulder, and everyone flinched at the low growl it released.

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

Okay, he took back the wish of being human. These people were assholes.

Keittek ducked as a laser shot over his head while he ran, stumbling a bit under the weight of his two companions. His shoulder ached and burned as it stretched, releasing more blood from the exertion, drenching his front in maroon. His eyesight blurred from the pain and blood loss.

With his strong legs, he kept several meters ahead of his pursuers despite his oncoming weakness. He turned his head slightly once he realized that the beams were coming with less frequency, but did not slow to do so. The humans were standing in a huddle, their guns pointed to the ground and conversing among themselves. Several gestured in Keittek's direction but none of them continued their pursuit.

What were the doing? Were they really just going to let them go after all-!

Keittek's thought process was cut short as his next footstep hit open air. With his center of balance shifted forward from his baggage, he had little choice but to let his velocity carry him forward. He turned his head back as he lurched forward, eyes widening at the sharp drop that awaited him.

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck... FUCK!

In order to prevent as much damage as possible to him or his companions, he was forced to release them to his sides and hit the slope shoulder first. The world spun as he forced himself into a roll and he grunted each time a sharp rock dug into his skin. The slope seemingly lasted forever before he hit horizontal ground. His roll still lasted for several more seconds because of his acceleration, but eventually he stumbled to a stop and collapsed on the ground, heaving for breath.

The slope stretched above him for several hundred feet, a foreboding tower of red clay and slate topped by the angels of death dressed in black, the dark glass obscuring their eyes.

Keittek gasped for breath as he scrambled to his feet, cursing under his breath. He quickly scanned the bottom of the treacherous slope for his comrades, his neck fur prickling at the staring of his possible executioners. A growl rumbled in his throat at the thought. He didn't risk his life then to die now. He may no longer have a mission, but he still had a purpose: stay alive and keep Shiro safe. Once he spotted the Olkari and Shiro, he dashed towards them before instinct screamed at him to dodge. Dirt showered the area he just was, and he cursed loudly.

The four meters to his comrades were littered with ditches and melted clay by the time he got to them and scooped them onto his shoulders. He shot a glare at the humans at the top of the slope before dashing to the right-the direction with the least damage. He let adrenaline carry him forward, dulling his pain and sharpening his focus. His companions stressed his already battered body and not for the last time, he cursed the human's persistence.

"... unh..." The Olkari on his left shoulder twitched and let out a quiet groan. Keittek's eyes flashed to Mattikeer and he jostled his shoulder on purpose, a plan quickly forming in his head as he spot a cave.

"C'mon, c'mon, Mattikeer. Kinda need your techno-plant wiz right now…. C'mon!"

Keittek cursed fluently as the cave came closer and the Olkari had yet to do anything but twitch or groan.

Okay, scrap that.

Keittek heaved the two beings on his shoulders before crouching and sliding into the cave. Once inside, he tossed Shiro and Mattikeer on the hard ground.

"Get up! No longer is it the time to be unconscious! We got some humans on our tails and you two are the only ones I can trust right now on this killer planet!"

"... Kei... Keittek?" came the hoarse whisper of Shiro. "What... what happened? Ugh... did you get the license plate of the craft that hit me?"

"Yes! ... no... _shit._ Shiro. We are in a load of bull right now. We landed on Earth but now we're being chased by some of your fellow humans." The ground rumbled and several shards of rock and dust fell from the ceiling. "We need to move, now!" The surrounding area shook violently, dislodging a large stalactite. Keittek snatched Shiro and Mattikeer and rolled out of the way of the sharp rock. Keittek shoved the Olkari into Shiro's arms and gestured further into the cave. "Now!"

The dazed human stumbled backwards before correcting his balance, only to lose it again as the cave shifted and knocked both of them off their feet. A growling rumble echoed within his ears. With little but instinct guiding him, the Galra shoved the two into the darker parts of the cave and shuffled after them as fast as possible. He had just gotten to his two companions when a resounding _crack_ sounded behind him and they were washed in darkness.

"Fuck."

This time it wasn't Keittek cursing.

 _Fuck_ was right. A large boulder had been rolled down the slope and it now blocked their only known entrance or exit.

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A/N: Hello my lovely shadows! Since I got this chapter done earlier than expected, I decided to update on Friday instead of Saturday/Sunday. I have been working on this chapter during my free time this last week, so I hope you enjoyed!

Also, thank you _so much_ to the people who have reviewed, favorited, and followed. 290 views, 13 favorites, 20 follows, and 5 reviews have been garnered by _Determination of the Few_ since its posting last Saturday. I am humbled that so many people have shown an interest in this teen's writing, and I hope I don't disappoint you in the future!

See you next Saturday~!

_-*Doodling Shadows*-_


	4. Trapped

Determination

VOLTRON AU

Summary: A darkish AU where Voltron was formed under far more… unusual circumstances. Galra!Keith, Altean!Lance, Olkari!PidgeMatt, and Balmeran!Hunk

A/N: Bring your pitchforks and witchcraft everybody, and burn me at the stake. I'm sorry about being late but shit happens. Strep, Flu, school play, trio to NYC, school work, a stomach bug... I've been unable to write anything remotely pertaining to DotF, and while some fault goes to the reasons listed above, a lot of them blame goes to myself. I'm lazy and unmotivated, but I got a kick in the butt, and while it took a bit, and its a little short, I have finished the fourth chapter of Determinstion of the Few!

So without further ado, please enjoy!

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Chapter 4: Trapped

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Keittek hated his appearance, it was as simple as that. Sure, Galra came in multiple body types and shades of purple, but most could tell something was off just by looking at him. His body consisted of long legs and a long torso, but despite that, his height rested inches below any other Galra he met. The position of his ears was off as well; instead of resting one-half or three-fourths of the way up his head, his ears instead rested right above the junction where head met neck. All of this didn't even come close to the attention his eyes garnered - oh, his eyes! Like any Galra, he possessed a schlera the color of liquid amber, but the damning parts were his pupil and iris, two very lacking features in a Galra eye. Within his golden schlera rested two oval irises the color of churned coal dashed with amethyst, and the little pupil that could be distinguished angled sharply like a feline's. Keittek would admit it: a lot of his insecurities derived from his appearance and heritage.

The whole universe just wouldn't let him forget his father's sin.

Okay, he needed to halt that spaceship before it landed. Trying to distance himself from the depressing line of thoughts he was tracking, he glanced up from his lap to stare across the rocky cavern.

Shiro paced the small cave they were trapped in, growling like a feral animal. Whenever he reached the offending piece of rock causing their confinement, he would pound it with his fists. Each time his metal arm struck the stone, Keittek flinched a little, drawing his ears back. Each time he had to resist the guttural growl that tried to force its way out of his throat, remembering the unconscious Olkari on his lap at the last second. Eventually, he got sick of the repetitiveness of his companion.

"Will you stop already? You are only wasting energy and oxygen," Keittek snapped at the human after a particularly aggressive assault on the boulder. "Why don't you explore the cave instead of being so hung up on that rock?"

Shiro twitched, fisting his hands into tight balls. A low sigh whispered through the cave before the human faced the Galra, eyes burning with a muted fire. "You... you're right, Keittek. I'm being stupid. We should be exploring alternate routes instead of what I'm doing." He glanced at the small, unconscious Olkari by Keittek's side. "Besides, it's not just you and me in here."

The halfbreed barely recognized the flash of concern in Shiro's eyes, but when he did, he sighed as well. "I understand you're frustrated - I am too - but we at least owe Mattikeer here a little more shut-eye, so why don't I help?"

Shiro nodded jerkily at the suggestion before stiffly walking to the opposite end of the cave from the rock. Hidden by a few stubborn stalactites and stalagmites, a small opening in the rock wall tunneled further into the earth. The entrance was tight, but Keittek was almost sure he could squeeze by with his lean build. Shiro might be a little tougher, but Mattikeer would prove no problem at all. However, walking into the depths with no scouting or preparation did not sound like the safest option, even if wildlife on Earth was supposedly far more tame than on some of the planets he had seen.

Therefore, Keittek volunteered to explore the tunnel first.

While the cave entrance had been fairly dry if a bit musky-smelling, the tunnel seemed to hoard that moisture, and within seconds of crawling into the narrow space, his fur and suit were coated in a thick layer of slime. Disgusted at the feeling, his ears flattened to prevent any of it from gathering in his ear canals, but he continued moving. With each step he took, the heat also began to peak, causing him to pant more as the tunnel continued.

After several moments, long after the point where he would usually stop, the small tunnel began to widen, and in almost time at all, Keittek was faced with another cavern similar to where they came from. The uncomfortable heat had now become sweltering, but no longer did he sweat. No entrances were visible, though, so the tunnel had proved to be a bust. Disappointed, Keittek turned around and began to head back.

When he was facing the tunnel entrance, however, a tingle zapped through him. Startled, he backed up until he reached the middle of the cavern, next to a massive column, only to have his breath taken away when he spotted them.

Carved on the rocky faces of the room were very faint but elaborate murals as far as the eye could see, sprawling from the bottom of each wall and crawling around the flooring and column until they coalesced at the top. Etchings of blue, green, red, yellow, and black that seemed far older than time itself, the likings of which stirred something deep within himself.

When he studied the odd carvings, however, he began to notice a pattern. The main colors of these murals were red, every other mural painted in the one deep maroon of blood. Each painting depicted some sort of animalistic machine of the likes he had never witnessed, each individual color representing a vaguely different form of the same type of creature.

The Black one was the largest no doubt, its hulking form and red wings striking the opposing form of leadership, but also representing a shining beacon of hope in dark times, as represented by the sun that always heralded the black creature.

Blue and Yellow were next in size, with Yellow winning only by a small portion. The yellow's creature's paint seemed to be the longest lasting, hinting to him a strong and stubborn personality. In most of the murals, Yellow stood over the weak, guarding all those that came to rest under its protection. Blue's murals radiated a calmness that none of the other's achieved, almost laid back in a way, but in each scene it was shown as a fun-lover who put those around it as ease. Together, the Blue and Yellow ones were obviously the supporting columns of the group. Without them, it would all crumble.

Red and Green were easily the smallest. Green showed a fierce loyalty and problem solving capability, always shown to be the problem solver of a situation, always in the back but never lacking in attention. The brains of the group, if you will. Red, however, was wild and tenacious, a pure force of nature. If Black signaled hope and peace, Red represented freedom in the purest sense of the word. His paintings always included a symbol of nature or calamity, trying to convey the beast's wild nature.

So mesmerized by the art, Keittek barely registered his own body leading him up to a particularly prideful visage of Red. Above what looked to be a field of lava, Red stood proud and undaunted even as a volcano erupted behind him.

Proud and unafraid. Two words that Keittek so desperately wanted to describe himself with.

Before he knew it, his hand rested upon the mural creature's muzzle. Warmth spread through his body at the contact and something, some consciousness, seemed to shift around his mind. It seemed to have found what it was looking for, and the consciousness faded away with a rumble akin to a motor.

Suddenly, his vision was enveloped in white and he stumbled backwards, his nerves firing off one after the other, his entire being buzzing. When his vision cleared, he gasped in utter awe.

A dazzling array of colors enveloped the room like a kaleidoscope, dancing off each surface and bringing the murals to _life_. Each rendition of the beasts moved across the cave wall, dancing from mural to mural with graceful steps. One group of the lions gathered on the wall in front of him, expanding until they took up the wall and towered above him. Black, Blue, Yellow, and Green let out a soft roar of greeting, but once they were done, Red absolutely _howled_ , almost leaping from the wall in all its lifelike glory.

"What the…," he whispered, the feeling from earlier gathering in his gut, trying to tell him something. Something important.

And then he was tumbling as the earth fell, grabbing for purchase and flailing his limbs as he decended into darkness, the echoing howl of Red and debris accompanying him.

He didn't quite know how long he fell, but he would garner that he had spent five minutes or more in that darkness before light burned his retinas and he had to close them against the pain.

Something softly brushed his consciousness with a rumbling purr. Once again, Red roared, but this time the source was much closer than it had been in the darkness.

Hesitantly, Keittek opened his eyes only to gape at the… the thing several hundred feet below him. He sprawled his limbs out, attempting to slow his decent - whether it was to prevent his death or spend more time to admire the sight, he didn't know.

Protected by a hexagonal dome of electro-lights, a massive mechanical beast sat on the only island in a boiling lake of lava, regal and very much alive - in whatever way a machine can be alive. Fire danced off its gleaming red coat of metal and lit its eyes with something old and wise.

So preoccupied with the majestic sight before him, Keittek no longer noticed the whipping winds or the agonizing heat or the fear that had pervaded his being before. His sights only had room for Red, the symbol of freedom and hope that he had just idolized on a cave mural.

Elated, he whooped as he grew closer to the sleek beast. He vaguely registered the shield disappearing and its mouth opening before he fell into another pit of darkness, for however short it lasted.

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Shiro had once again taken to pacing, but this time his frustration focused around the too-small tunnel and the Galra that had entered and had yet to return. Almost thirty minutes ago, he had heard a scream echo faintly through the tunnels and he had scrabbled to try and force his body through. In his frantic struggle to get to Keittek, his upper right torso was covered in cave slime.

As time slugged on, he felt himself get more and more wound up thinking about what happened, whispering suspicions or hints of other noises that had been present besides the scream. But that was foolish-there were no lions in this part of the world, and certainly not that deep in a small cavern system. If he hadn't been able to fit through the tunnel, why would a lion?

But then again, his mind whispered, there might have been another entrance far more accessible to a large quadruped.

Growling, he nearly flung himself at the tunnel once again before a soft voice startled him out of his mindset.

"Sh… Sh-Shiro?" Mattikeer whispered, his voice faint and strained and his complexion near wilted. "You there?"

Shiro rushed towards the Olkari's side, his heart thundering in his ears. "I'm here," he whispered. His voice and presence settled Mattikeer, who noticeably relaxed into the rock.

"W-where are we?"

Shiro grit his jaw. "We're… we're trapped in a cave. We're on Earth, my home planet, but we were attacked. We fled here, but a boulder is now blocking our exit."

The Olkari's breath hitched, but otherwise he tried to stay calm. "I-is there not a way to escape?" He asked, panic slipping into his voice.

"Keittek went to look."

"O-oh," Mattikeer murmured before letting his eyes wander around the cave. "I hope he hurries."

"I do, too."

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

Keittek's harsh panting echoing around in the odd cockpit he awoke in. He grasped his side painfully and kept his other arm protected against his side. In the decent into the beast's "belly", he had suffered massive bruises and a broken arm caused by his entering the tube at such an angle that his momentum cupaused him to bounce off walls and rattle all the way down. Thankfully he hadn't hit his head on the way down, but it felt like he had hit about every other surface of his body.

When the aching dulled down enough that he could move without folding in on himself, he stood to inspect his new surroundings. A cooing growl rumbled inside his consciousness, like the beast was apologizing to him for his pain.

He still couldn't quite believe that he currently sat inside a mechanical beast so old that is probably predates the creation of the Galra Empire, but he needed to figure out what was going on so he could return to Shiro and Mattikeer.

Bracing himself on the center chair, he studied the symbols and numbers scrolling across the holographic-like screens. Next to the seat was a intention, likely for a 'key' of some sorts. After about another minute of exploration, his curiosity won over his logic, and he sat his tush down on the surprisingly comfy seat.

The rumbling from before once again returned and then quickly craciendoed, the creature crying out in triumph. With a jerk and a feeling akin to having the world pulled out from under you, he was flying.

The screens lighted up, turning from the previous green to instead a representation of what was going on outside. The lake of lava passed by in a blur of orange and red as Red flew over, aiming for a speck of light several yards away. Within seconds of exciting flight, Red burst free from its prison of ten thousand years (although Keittek didn't know that) with another enthusiastic roar.

Keittek roared along with it, pushing the handles by his seat forward, spurring the mechanical beast on faster, the freedom rushing through his very being and exhilarating him like nothing ever before.

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Mattikeer _hurt_.

As he lay on the cool rocks of the cave, he felt his energy seeping out of him, leaving him weak and shaky. His eyes flitted about the cavern, seeing but not seeing, his mind too tired to fully register the impulses his eyes were sending. He felt the skin on his chest crackling as it expanded to fill his lungs with life-giving air. A papery tongue flitted out to wet his lips before abandoning the fruitless effort altogether.

Shiro continued to pace the cavern after a recent bout of frustration. That time, instead of just trying to squeeze through, he had decided to force his way through by expanding the tunnel with his metal arm acting as a hammer and chisel. Mattikeer seriously feared for the man's sanity at that point; by the time Shiro got to the other side using that method, any help he could have given would be nil if the Galra had been in trouble - if the Galra was only exploring deeper and was returning than his efforts still would have been for naught.

Humans could be so stupid sometimes, he realized, before returning to a dozing state.

The next time he regained consciousness, it would be to the scraping of stone on stone and the panicked voice of Shiro as the human saw the Red Lion for the very first time.

Mattikeer wouldn't stay aware long though. At the first sign of extraneous movement, his body shut down until it reached the minimum amount of function.

He would slip into a coma, as humans called it.

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A/N: Okay, so a few of you were curious about how this group would reach Allura, Coran, and Altman!Lance, and I think I found a safe solution. Since we were never given Red's location before it was captured by the Galra, I took some artistic license in shuffling around their origin spots. I'll just say this: only Yellow will be in his original position, besides Black, who HAS to stay in he castle as a last defense (to prevent Voltron's formation in case Zarkon gets a hold of the lions). Red was at Earth, but can anyone guess where Blue and Green are? I'm sure they will be very obvious considering the plot I have developed.

Anywho, I have a question for my reviewers: should I have the paladins "nickname" their lions? If so, what are some name suggestions? I have some already in mind, but I want to ask. Just to let you know, I would like if you keep the names to either gender ambiguous ones, or follow my version of the lions' genders (Red, Green, Blue: female, Yellow, Black: male).

Please review and let me know about your opinions! Always like to hear from my readers. ;3

Happy Writing!

_-*Doodling Shadows


	5. Encountering the Alteans of Arus

Determination of the Few

Voltron AU

Summary: A darkish AU where Voltron was formed under far more... unusual circumstances. Galra!Keith, Altean!Lance, Bulmeran!Hunk, and Olkari!Pidge&Family.

A/N: Hello again, my dear shadows! After kicking myself into gear last chapter, I found myself unable to stop the train of thought, so I wrote this up in the last day or so. It's piping hot, so please excuse any mistakes. The next chapter should be up by the end of the week if my muse keeps up.

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Chapter 5: Encountering the Alteans of Arus

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Word Count: ~3,600

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Keittek stroked the surprisingly warm, metal snout of Red, trying to calm his thumping heart. He had stepped out of the large mechanical beast after it had clawed and pushed the rock out of the way as if it were nothing but a pebble, which in comparison to Red's size… it kind of was. In the cave entrance stood Shiro, cradling the limp form of Mattikeer as if the Olkari would slip out of his hold forever if he didn't.

"Are you sure this… lion… thing… is safe?"

"Is that what it is? A lion?" Keittek rolled the word around in his mouth as he studied the great beast in front of him.

"Well… uh… could be a lioness, considering its lack of a mane. A lioness is a female lion," he elaborated at the Galra's confused look.

Keittek hummed, stroking the warm metal beneath his palm. "That sounds good. Lioness... Are these lions and lionesses of yours… are they wild? Free?"

"Um… they are… errr… were. They went extinct a long time ago."

"Extinct," he murmured, pausing his stroking. "You mean they all… died?"

"Yeah."

Keittek frowned at the thought of such a proud creature falling, his heart aching when he thought of how lonely that last lion must have felt. His palm slid off Red's snout, and his frown lessened slightly at the groaning of metal that echoed from its throat.

"She… she's safe," he said, turning from the mechanical lioness. "I'm sure of it." Shiro nodded hesitantly before stepping forward.

With the combined efforts of Galra and human, they secured the frail Olkari in the lion's cockpit. With Shiro tending to Mattikeer, who seemed a little too frail, a little too still for Keittek's liking, the Galra slid into the seat, his hands already twitching for the controls, longing for the freedom of flight.

When Red finally launched itself into the air, Keittek was ready for the rush of adrenaline. After a few rocky bumps and stumbles, they were well on their way away from the Earth's surface, and when he laughed in exhilaration, he could feel a soft hum vibrate through Red in response.

Several seconds later, they blasted through the atmosphere, and a galaxy of stars welcomed them. Breathless, he shifted in his seat to look at his passengers, seeing the awe on Shiro's face as well. Mattikeer had yet to wake, even with all the movement and shaking, and Keittek let out a deep breath before setting his jaw.

What to do now? Where would they go? Earth was a bust, and they definitely couldn't seek out the Blade of Mamora so soon - that might compromise them all. No doubt they had already begun to track the escape pod, and if they weren't already near Earth, they would be soon. And if they already had a track on Red… what if nowhere was safe?

As if it could sense his turbulent thoughts, Red roared and launched forward.

Panicked, Keittek shook his controls frantically, his breath fluttering when he realized that Red was piloting on its own will. After giving the controls one last shake, he moved his eyes towards the endless expanse of stars.

A pulse of light shot from Red, and in a split second where there had been nothing but stars, a massive blue sphere hovered, pulsing sluggishly. An odd language was carved on the spheres outer circle.

"What the heck?" Shiro muttered, clutching Mattikeer tightly.

Red launched towards the sphere, making two of its passengers cry out. In the span of mere moments where time and space seemed to swirl dizzyingly, they were transported from the Sol system to an entirely new place.

When Keittek finally grasped his bearings, he gaped at the absolutely beautiful planet. A massive sphere of blue and green and white laid out before them, devoid of any parasitic, Galra ships. He felt his body relax in relief. Whatever Red was, and however the beast was connected to the Voltron Ulas used to blabber about, it certainly held no ill will towards its passengers.

Wherever they were, it seemed untouched and far away from any Galra influence. Steadying his breathing, Keittek a dressed the large, mechanical lion.

"Why did you bring us here, Red?" Keittek asked, resting his palm on the control board. A dozen answers to his question flitted through his head, but one stuck out the most to him. "Is this your… home?"

Red let out a low, keening growl in confirmation before shooting off towards the planet, causing its passengers to hold on for dear life as it casually broke the sound barrier.

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 _Chaos. Alarms were beeping, people were panicking. His cousin, his uncle, Coran. All of them were speaking, arguing. His head hurt, yet everything stood out in stark reality._

 _Their last safe haven, the last home of the Alteans… it would fall. They were running out of options._

 _Everything passed in a dizzying blur. Allura screamed at her father, he pleaded with his uncle. Coran watched in muted silence. Alfor was solemn, resolute in the face of his daughter and nephew's pleadings._

" _Father! We need you!" Allura begged._

 _"Your highness! You cannot expect us to…" he whispered, disbelief in his voice._

 _"I am old," King Alfor stated, cutting off the two adolescents. "I am past my prime, but you two are the last of the line, the only of the royal line , Allura, as my daughter, and you, Lance, as the firstborn and only living son of my sister, Driana. I will do my best to fend off Zarkon and make it so that his climb to power will be long and hard, but you two must preserve the future, lead the cause another day. Years may pass, my children, but Altea must live on, even if the kingdom falls."_

 _The deep resonance of King Alfor shut up both of their protests, and Lance watched silently as Allura broke down and hugged her father, pleading for him to come with them at least._

 _With careful arms, and no less sorrow and hurt than the two children, Coran pulled them away from King Alfor and towards the Cryogenic chambers. His usually light attitude had fallen in the recent events, and neither of them had the heart to protest against the older Altean. Allura cried out weakfly for her father to reconsider, but the king turned his head and refused to meet his daughter's eyes._

 _With much tears, both were frozen behind glass and locked away for ten thousand years. Coran followed suit after giving a resolute goodbye to his closest friend of several years._

 _The last thing Lance heard before his mind froze as well was a soft, "I'm sorry, my children."_

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Red broke the planet's atmosphere and sped through the frosty cloud bank, his gears humming with energy. Once they broke through the dense condensation, Keittek's eyes widened.

Before them stood a glistening castle surrounded by four tours of shining metal, its body perched on top a massive pillar of rock. A deteriorated stone bridge connected the castle to the main landmass, its crumbling visage a testament to the passage of time that must have occurred since the castle last had visitors.

Behind him Shiro stood and carried Mattikeer to the console as Red soared over the picturesque view, all of them just admiring the beauty of the sight before them. The sun had begun to set - or rise - on the horizon, sending glittering beams of lights that reflected off the castle like a crystal. For a moment they peacefully enjoyed the view, Red allowing control for the moment as Keittek searched for a landing point.

Only when Red finally had all four feet on the ground did the spell break, and the two were scrambling to get out of the cockpit. After exiting from the lion's mouth, Keittek turned to look at the mechanical beast, his hair and fur being caressed by the soft breeze.

"So this is your home, huh?" he whispered, reaching a hand to stroke Red's snout, only for the lion to pull back and take a proud stance. "What are you-"

An echoing roar was his response, and Keittek nearly stumbled on his feet from the sheer intensity of the sound.

"What the heck?" Shiro growled, taking a cautionary stance as the lion resumed its more relaxed pose and craned its neck down to the two. "What did it do?"

This time a metallic creaking noise answered, and they shuffled around until they stared down the gaping mouth of the castle, its interior slowly lighting up, as if Red's roar was the key…

Keittek spared one last glance at Red before he hesitantly began to explore the castle, Shiro a couple steps behind him.

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

A soft whooshing click heralded a blast of warm air as he felt his body unfreeze ever so slowly. His mind was slow to follow, but by the time his fingers and toes were warm, he felt some sort of consciousness bumbling around in his head. Another soft whoosh called in stale stagnant air and an angry, feminine voice.

"A Galra! A GALRA?! What are you doing here?!" The infuriated voice of his cousin floated past his ears, and with a soft groan, he opened his eyes and then quickly closed them, feeling a migraine assaulted his skull.

With careful footsteps, Lance stepped out of the pod, his balance shaky after what felt like an eternity of frozen sleep. When he stumbled, a strong set of hands grabbed his shoulders, and he smiled and thanked the figure dazedly, his mind not quite keeping up with what his body was telling him-that this alien, whatever it was, wasn't Altean; that the air was stale and it had been a long time since it had been breathed; that the metal was cold under his feet, lacking the warmth he had grown so used to; that nothing was the same and that it probably never would be again.

"Look," a voice said softly. The origin of the sound suggested that the owner was also the owner of the strong hands still grasping his shoulders. "We've been through alot, and I would appreciate it if we could have a calm discussion. We don't have much of an idea how or why we got here, either."

"Well, considering that the alarms aren't going off, I assume you came in one of the lions, and it opened the castle. Am I correct?" That must have been Coran. He had been frozen as well?

"Yeah," another voice responded, its tone soft if commanding. "We came from planet called Earth, where we found a large, mechanical lion. It flew us here."

Lance felt his mind spinning and nausea climbing his throat. With the help of the person that had grabbed him earlier, he lowered himself to the ground. However long it had been since they were frozen not have agreed with him. He had always been a bit sensitive to the cryopods, but this was a much larger reaction than ever before. He valiantly tried to hold his stomach, but he new it was probably a lost cause.

Someone settled by his side, and b the soft touch on his back, he knew it was Allura. "Fine. We can talk, but you _will_ explain everything." Lance didn't need to look to tell that his cousin was glaring. She was so predictable sometimes.

"We will explain as best as we can," the second voice promised. "But I have to ask if you have something that can help our friend here. He's an Olkari, and he's sick. He's been unconscious since yesterday, and I'm not sure what to do."

"Well, I'll see what I can do," Coran said. "May I?"

"Go ahead, just be careful. He's really delicate… and light."

"I will. No worries! I'll have him taken care of it a few tics!" Coran footsteps began to fade away as he spoke until the man's presence faded almost completely. Not enough to warrant panic, but enough to let Lance know that the man had left for another room.

The next few moments were spent in silence as Lance tried to rein in his nausea and Allura patted his back. Their guests shuffled a little before sitting, but otherwise they didn't voice their discomfort, probably knowing well enough they were at their hosts mercy. When Lance finally felt a little better, he opened his eyes to asses their guests.

While Lance had assumed one of them were Galra from his cousin's outburst, he hadn't quite been prepared to look into the face of a race that had caused the Altean's near-extinction. Although the alien was obviously not entirely Galra from his dark locks and obvious pupils, the resemblance was a little too much, so he quickly averted his eyes so they rested on the other guest.

Lance's ears perked in interest at the other man. The face shape and body structure strongly reminded him of an Altean, but its ears were rounded and it lacked the facial markings of any Altean he knew. A scar ripped across its strong nose, and two dark eyes assessed him equally. A shock of silvery white topped its head of black, only adding to the slightly intimidating visage that the alien exuded.

"So, uh…" Lance began awkwardly, deciding to avoid the two's eye contact and instead stare at their noses when needed.

"Right," Allura nodded, shifting into her 'princess mode', as Lance called it. "It's time to tell us why you are here, how you got ahold of a lion, and what you plan to do next. And why," she continued, narrowing her eyes, "you have a Galra with you."

The Galra lowered his head and pinned his ears back, staring at the floor. The other one noticed this and gave Allura a hard glare, almost seeming to wind up for an argument before deflating and letting the subject matter drop.

"Let me first start by introducing ourselves," it - he - began. "My name is Shiro and the _half_ -Galra beside me is Keittek. The one that your friend took with you to check up on is Mattikeer."

"I am Allura, the Altean Princess, and this here is my cousin, Lance, who has been tasked as my retainer. Coran is the one who is treating your friend."

Shiro nodded in respect before continuing. "I am originally from Earth and Mattikeer is from Olkarion. Several months ago, almost a year I believe, I was captured by the Galra during an exploration of one of the planets in our solar system with a team of scientists. I was held captive along with Mattikeer, but one day, approximately two days ago, a plan was enacted to free me by a group of Galra calling themselves the Blade of Mamora."

He paused at the incredulous looks on Allura and Lance's faces. "I know. I didn't quite believe it at first either. A Galra by the name of Ulas created an opening for me to escape, and while he did so, he sent Keittek to grab Mattikeer, knowing that I would not leave without the Olkari in tow. I had grown very fond of him while we were imprisoned, and I'm one hundred percent sure that I might not be alive or sane right now if it wasn't for him. We escaped in an escape pod that Ulas had already programmed to head towards my home planet, Earth.

"Apparently they had information that said the lion had been located there, and so he sent us, more specifically me, to get it instead. I'm not sure how that plan worked out in his head, but I'm thankful it did."

Shiro took a deep breath and let it out. Keittek continued for him. "When we arrived, there were some of the occupants of Earth already waiting for us. They probably noticed us several minutes before we broke the atmosphere. They fired at us, so I grabbed Shiro and Mattikeer and fled. They chased us until I fell down a cliff. I managed to get us into a cave before they sent a rockslide down on us, blocking the cave exit. It was upon further inspection of the cave that I stumbled upon Red. After getting Mattikeer and Shiro free, we left Earth. Red took control and brought us here, the castle opened, and we found you. End of story."

Allura still looked leery and continued to give the Gal - no, Keittek - distrusting looks. Lance understood his cousins dislike of the race as a whole, but one with a lax attitude like himself never felt like getting himself wound up over things they couldn't help. The Zarkon was the one who destroyed them, not the race as a whole. Besides… how long has it been?

When he gave that question to Allura, her eyes widened and she fled towards the control room, her gown flowing behind her wildly. When Keittek and Shiro sent him odd looks, he sighed and stood, only stumbling slightly. Once again Keittek grabbed his shoulders and steadied him, and he sent the Galra a grateful smile.

"Don't worry too much about Allura," he said as he led the group to the control room. "In our perspective, it's only been a few minutes since the Galra, led by Zarkon, attacked us… and… and killed her father, my uncle." He held back the tears that threatened to burst forth. "She's very passionate, and even before, she decided to blame the whole Galra race instead of just Zarkon's inner circle, who were the instegators. She feels like she needs someone to blame, so I'm sorry if she's hostile towards you for a while. She will even out and realize how wrong she is, but give her time."

"Why aren't you more upset? You just said that your entire race besides you three were annihilated… by mine…" Keittek's brow wrinkled in confusion and guilt shone in his eyes.

"Oh, I am," Lance assured them, turning to show them a watery smile. "But it's not the first time I've lost people I love, family. My mother died in the conflict right after Zarkon's betrayal. She protected my uncle when Zarkon tried to stab him through the heart. She died pregnant with my little sister. Unlike Allura, whose mother died early in her childhood, I wasn't blind to the happenings around me. I'm older than Allura by half a decafabe, so I began to learn about war while she was still picking flowers. She was sheltered, and as her retainer I was tasked with keeping her protected, so while I learned how the world works, she is still a bit naive."

Shiro and Keittek reluctantly nodded their heads, and the rest of their trip was relatively silent. It was almost reaching awkward when they finally entered the control room. There Allura was frantically working the controls, probably checking everything from the date to how much power or fuel they had. She was a bit of a control freak like that.

"Allura!" he called out, walking up the steps until he stood behind the working woman. "Allura," he called out softer, trying to gain the younger Altean's attention.

She twirled around until she faced him, and right away he could tell she was upset. While she wasn't crying, yet, her nose scrunched and the muscles on her face tightened as her lips drew into a tight line.

"Ten thousand years," she finally choked out, blinking away her tears. "We have been asleep for ten thousand years, Lance! Ten thousand years since father…"

And that's when the dam broke. Allura keeled over into his arms, sobbing as the realization of what had happened overtook her. She called out several names in a broken voice, mourning for the loss that had just now hit her. It took several moments before the proud Altean composed herself, quickly taking back over the control panel, the pinkening tips of her ears no doubt from embarrassment.

Lance patted Allura once more on the shoulder, whispering a soft, "don't work yourself too hard," before walking back to the Galra and Earthling standing awkwardly by the entrance. Sometime during Allura's breakdown, Coran had joined them.

"So, how's the Olkari?" He asked Coran after nodding to the older man.

"Stable," Coran replied. "He is very weak, and he still has not awoken, but I have him settled in a room with several UV lights positioned over him, and maybe when he isn't so delicate, we could possibly try the healing pod. All we can do now is provide the nutrients he has been deprived of and wait."

Shiro looked anxious at the news, but when Lance caught the Earthling's eye, he had already schooled his expression.

Lance sighed and checking the time before addressing the two guests. "I assume that you are tired after all that has happened to you, so Coran can lead you to some rooms you can use for the night. Tomorrow we can figure out everything before deciding on the next plan of action."

Shiro took a deep breath and nodded, and Keittek hesitantly nodded as well, sending a weary glance towards Allura.

"Don't worry," he assured them. "We'll be too busy tonight for her to get too worked up about you, but be ready in the morning. Once her mind is unoccupied, she might start interrogating you, but she won't do anything particularly harmful. Even she knows that the red lion is a fickle one, and it wouldn't have picked you if you weren't worthy, Keittek."

Unbeknownst to the Altean, those words had helped lift a deep worry in Keittek's heart.

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

That night, while Coran, Lance, and Allura made sure the castle was in working condition, Shiro contemplated what had happened so far, and how much his life had changed in the span of a year. Keittek laid awake as well, wondering if maybe things were heading in the right direction for once.

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

A/N: Hello! As you can see in this chapter, Keittek refers to the red lion simply as Red. He has already developed a bit of a bond with the right arm of Voltron because of the fact that it brings him a sense of freedom he has never experienced before, and he also admires it for its wild nature. This Keith is not one we are used to-in fact, the only ones who will be wholly the same are Allura, Coran, and Shiro. He isn't as hardened; he is vulnerable because he has lived his life dependent on those who verbally abused him and beat him for his status as a half-breed. Mattikeer will be a whole other beast, considering that we have very little to go off of in terms of personality. Lance grew up in an environment where he was needed and didn't have to deceive himself into thinking he is.

I am still thinking on names, and while I honestly prefer them to be gender-ambiguous, there are cases where it can be skewed in favor of the pilot's perception. In the show, Lance refers to Blue as a female (at least I believe), and in one scene, Hunk refers to Yellow as a male. I'm not sure about Keith and Pidge, but it is my own perception that Black is male, as he is the leader of the group, and in a pack of lions, the leader is always male - he also has what could be considered a mane, but this is my own perception.

Next chapter will include two more of our favorite bunch, some Lance and Keittek bonding, and a possible new recruit into the Voltron team (not a pilot).

Let me know what you think!

Happy Writing~!

_-*Doodling Shadows


	6. Battle Plans

**Determination of the Few**

 **Voltron AU**

 **Summary: a dark-ish AU where Voltron was formed under far more... unusual circumstances. Galra!Keith, Altean!Lance, Balmeran!Hunk, and Olkari!Pidge &Family**

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Chapter 6: Battle Plans

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Word Count: ~4000

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Deep within the bowels of Balmera, far below the crystal mines, a pulse of energy ripped through the stonework of the planet and the essence of Balmera _screamed_.

All throughout the Galra infested tunnels, the Balmerans paused in their work to stand in solemn silence as they felt their planet writhe in agony and withdraw further into itself. A vibration of pain and sadness echoed through their beings, leaving behind a solemn trail behind it.

One adolescent Balmeran grunted in rage and smashed his fist into one of the crystal-bare walls, his usually friendly face twisted into a scowl as his heart ached in response to Balmera's pain. Once he pummeled the wall for all he was worth, he turned and began growling, his shoulders tense as he stared at the apathetic sentries. How dare they feel nothing as they tore a planet, a living being, apart?!

"Hunx, _please_ ," his friend begged, laying a rough hand on his shoulder. "I know you are hurting, and, like all of us, you are angry, but you must not cause trouble."

Hunx forced his face to relax somewhat and turned to face his friend. "I know, Shay," he rumbled. "I just… I feel like I need to do _something_ , you know?"

The female Balmeran smiled sadly and returned to her work. "There's not much we can do," she sighed, her face turned away from Hunx. "Only wait and endure, like we always have."

"Yeah? Well, I'm tired of waiting."

"... I know."

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Shiro was the first to wake up the next morning, blearily stumbling into the control room and settling down on a seat. Only Coran accompanied his lonesome self, the middle-aged Altean bumbling around, making adjustments as he saw fit. According to him, Allura and Lance had left sometime in the night to seek out their own beds, leaving the hyper man to himself.

And boy did Coran chatter when Shiro had settled down. The questions popped out of his mouth like firecrackers.

"Your terminology yesterday had me wondering. What is a month? What is a year? What other measurements of time do you use? Do you go by ticks or something completely different? What physical measurement system do you use?" were just some of the questions Shiro was assaulted with so early in the morning.

"A month is comprised of four weeks, which are made seven days," he groaned with forced patience, "and days are measured by hours. Each day has twenty-four hours. Each hour holds sixty minutes which hold sixty seconds. Seconds are like 1... 2... 3..." Shiro patiently explained, rubbing the bridge of his nose and staring at the ceiling. His head felt muzzy with much-needed sleep, but he sorely wished for a cup of coffee, his mind latching on to the thought of caffeine after so long without it.

"Ah…" Coran hummed from his place inside one of the motherboards. "So your smallest unit of time is a second, which is approximately equal to one of our ticks. But I cannot say that I understand your time groupings. You go from two groupings of sixty to a grouping of twenty-four, which is then grouped into sevens, and after that fours. After that… uh. How many months are in a year?"

"Twelve," he grunted, knocking his head back. Remind him to never introduce Coran to caffeine. The man was too energetic as is.

The man hummed as if that only confirmed a theory of his. "You earthlings are weird. What about your measurements?"

Shiro held back yet _another_ groan. "How about we leave that conversation for later, when I'm awake," he almost pleaded, tossing an arm over his eyes.

"But you are awake?" Coran pulled out from the wiring he was inspecting to look at Shiro oddly. "Do you earthlings have another state of wakefulness between sleep and consciousness, one where you are still able to function if at a lower level than if you were fully awake?"

"Coran, please shut up."

"Oh, okay." The Altean went back to his work, humming an oddly jaunty tune as he did so. Shiro let out a relieved sigh and slumped against his seat.

The sliding of a metal door interrupted their relative silence about ten minutes later, and Keittek plodded into the room. His fur was mussed up like a cat who had been rubbed the wrong way, and his eyes glared murder at everything in his path. Shiro silently laughed at the Galra's plight.

"Hard to fall asleep in a new place, huh?" Shiro smiled sympathetically, gesturing to a seat next to him. "Let yourself wake up for a bit. Allura and Lance are still in bed, but Coran has apparently stayed up all night working on the castle."

"I've had ten thousand years to sleep! I can afford to put off a nap for another couple hours if it means getting the castle into tip-top shape!" Coran called out, his voice muffled under all the machinery and wires he had buried himself into.

Keittek and Shiro shared a chuckle at the odd Altean before they settled in for a while of peaceful chatter and morning drowsiness.

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

"What is the status of the castle, Coran?" Allura slid into the room, the perfect picture of a princess. Lance trailed behind her a few minutes later, the complete opposite of his cousin.

"Everything seems to be working fine," Coran answered, replacing a panel in the circuitry. "Your little friends were a big help, I must say. Without them I doubt I would have been able to accomplish half of what I did!." A group of four mice gathered on his shoulder as the Altean twirled his mustache proudly.

Allura nodded jerkily before facing Shiro and Keittek.

"As Keittek was able to pilot the red lion and get you here safely, he will be its paladin. Unfortunately, we still need to locate three of the lions, and we seem to be one man short. Unless we can find people better suited, we will have to work with what we have to retrieve the rest of Voltron as quickly as possible. Yes, Shiro?"

Shiro lowered his hand. "What, exactly, is Voltron? I was only informed of a little by Ulas, and I'm a bit in the dark."

"Ah, yes," Allura said, squaring her shoulders. "Voltron holds the title of 'Defender of the Universe', and ten thousand years ago, it kept peace between the galaxies. Long before that, it was created by the Alteans as a measure against evil. Voltron is made up of five lions, which are piloted by five paladins: red, blue, green, yellow, and black. The five lions have the ability to combine and form the robot known as Voltron. Considering that Zarkon has taken over much of the universe and Voltron stands as his only opposition, it is up to us and the paladins of Voltron to once again bring peace across all the galaxies and bring down Zarkon... Is that explanation satisfactory, Shiro?"

At Shiro's nod, she continued, "Currently we have the red and black lions in our possession, and the rest are secured on different planets across the galaxy, much like the red lion was held at Earth. In order to access the lions, a paladin that the lion accepts - or I, as the last Altean heir - must be present, but we are in desperate times. Therefore, this mission may take longer than expected, but it can be done."

Allura then gestured them towards the hallways, and in a few moments the group was situated in a large, vacant room. With a few precise taps on a center console, the room lit up in a miniature replica of the universe. A few more taps had three particular planets in separate galaxies lighting up. A swipe across the panel brought up one of the planets, a line connecting it to a large, yellow lion. The planet was almost crystal-like in shape, a bulging rock formation encircling a large portion of its right hemisphere.

"This planet is Balmera, and its residents are very peaceful," Allura fondly said. "Ten thousand years ago we had a very strong relationship with the planet and its people, the Balmerans, one that thrived on mutual benefit. To protect the yellow lion, we buried it deep in Balmera's tunnels, where even its people had not fully explored. As we do not have a paladin for the yellow lion, I will have to accompany Shiro and go after this lion myself."

Another flick and an icy blue planet floated into view, the lion associated with it similar in color, if of a much darker, aquamarine hue.

"When we sent the blue lion to this planet, it was near uninhabitable; its temperature was consistently freezing and it was completely unfavorable to life. As the little information we have is from so long ago, I cannot guarantee that it is still barren. It may have developed some sort of higher marine intelligence while we were out of commission, so I will be sending Keittek and Lance to retrieve the blue lion in the case of resistance." Allura's face scrunched in displeasure for a moment before it was schooled back into a mask of professionalism.

Another flick, and then a thriving planet filled with equal parts vegetation and organic machinery slid into view. "This is Olkarion, the home of the Olkari. We will leave this planet alone for now until Mattikeer wakes up, which should be today, according to Coran. When he wakes up, he will be brought up to speed and Coran will accompany him to retrieve the green lion."

Allura pivoted on her heel and faced the group, her gown fluttering as it tried to catch up with her body. "By the end of the day we should have all three lions accounted for, barring any complications."

She scanned their eyes for any hint of approval at her plan, an almost vulnerable look on her face. Only a slight nod from Coran and a smile from Lance allowed the young woman's features to soften, and she passed them to gesture down another hallway.

"Now that we have that out of the way, we need to gear you up," she said as she led them through the halls, ony stopping when she reached a locked door. Beside the barred metal entryway, a futuristic, technological pad stood on a pedestal, likely requiring a handprint to activate the mechanism that would unlock the door. "Right now, we only have four paladin candidates, and after assessing your personalities for the brief amount of time we have been in contact, I have grouped you to a close match—except Keittek, of course.

"As Mattikeer is asleep, I cannot gain his approval on the pairing I have chosen for him, and as he has been asleep I have not been able to assess him, but based on the intelligence of his race, I believe he would be an exceptional match for the Green Lion. The Green Lion is the very peaceful and extremely intelligent strategizer of the group, and I can only hope that Mattikeer is the same, but I have very little doubt in the matter. " Allura's expression stretched amiably as she delivered this news, her shoulders pulled back in a seemingly forced pose of leadership. "But when the Green Lion is in our grasp, he may refuse the position if he would rather prefer to help us in other ways."

She bit her lip before continuing. "Lance will be the paladin of the Blue Lion, and Shiro, you will be the Black Lion's paladin. Ten thousand years ago, Lance was third in line for the position of blue paladin should our former paladin unexpectedly die, so I will have confidence that he can take the position and fulfill it. Shiro, from what I can gather, you are a usually calm person, a trait in high demand when it comes to a position of leadership. You possess a mind which will be able to determine the best outcome for the paladins as a whole, and by placing you in the position of the black paladin, I am putting a large amount of faith in your abilities, but I believe that they are not in vain."

The Altean princess swiftly swiped her palm against the sensor and slipped into the room once the mechanisms had unlocked. Her silver hair floated as she glided over to a pedestal standing center, which after a bit of fiddling, lowered slightly into the floor after flashing a bright Sunday blue. A group of pods began to climb out of the metal ground only a moment later, their clear faces revealing the treasures inside.

"Please pick out the suit the lion you have been assigned to."

Once the three were suited up in their respective outfits, she carried on, handing Keittek and Lance two oddly shaped objects. "These are Bayards," she explained at Keittek and Shiro's befuddled expressions. "Each one can be used as a weapon, with the weapon varying depending on the person's personality and preferred form of attack. As you may find out, many of your weapons will likely be ranged or have a ranged option. This is to aid you in case you are separated from your lion for an extended period of time. However, by using the Bayard when controlling your lion, you will be able to unlock hidden potentials each lion posesses, but they also require a strong bond to activate. So, please, treat your lions with care, less we will not be able to do the same for the universe."

Allura then turned her gaze to the only Earthling present in the room, her eyes growing sad and dark. "Unfortunately, Shiro, the blackBayard was lost to us alongside with its paladin." Her expression tried to convey her sorrow on the subject, but they also revealed a deep anger that confused her audience.

With a few swings of their Bayards, Keittek cradled the handle of a red sword while Lance hefted a white and blue rifle-like space gun. The two inspected their new weapons with barely restrained glee, shooting an appreciative glance at the other's weapon when the other wasn't looking in the meanwhile.

"Now that we have suitably prepared you for the mission ahead, it is time to retrieve the lions."

With that said, they exited the room and split off into their groups with a few, quiet "Good luck"s.

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Keittek and Lance left the group first, the Altean and half-Galra made their way to the Red Lion posthaste. Nary a word was spoken between the two, and Red easily bent down and accepted them into her maw before any were exchanged. The silence irritated Keittek, but he restrained himself until they had seated themselves comfortably in the cockpit, which by that time his fur had already begun to prickle with suppressed anger.

"If you don't trust me, just say it!" he finally snapped, expression twisted into a snarl.

Lance looked startled for a moment and almost seemed to hold back a squeak before he eventually sighed and relaxed his tense muscles. "It's not that I don't trust you," he confessed. And wasn't that a pleasant way to start a heart-to-heart? "I guess I'm still shocked—it feels like just _yesterday_ when Zarkon betrayed us, but now, ten thousand years later... he's still _alive._ "

Keittek stared at the Altean as he absentmindedly activated Red with his Bayard. "That's not all," he grumbled stubbornly, grabbing the controls with scarcely concealed anger. He wasn't sure if it was anger at himself or the rather tentative Lance.

"No, it's not," Lance finally conceded, but he didn't elaborate further.

Heaving a sigh, Keittek pushed the control handles forward. Red leapt into the air with a powerful kick of her hind legs and a blast of her engines, and the two were exiting Arus' habitable atmosphere only seconds later. The half-Galra still contained some awe at the indescribable power the lions held, and he was honsetly elated to be back behind Red's controls once again. It had only been half of a day, but even that had seemed too long in his mind. Alura's hesitance around him was stifling, but Red had yet to make him uncomfortable; instead, behind her wheel, he felt freer and less restricted than he had in his entire life. He could get addicted to this feeling, but he didn't find it within himself to care.

Once outside of the atmosphere of the Altean's improvised home, Red curled her tail and shot a white-blue beam from the tip. After a moment of disorientation caused by the transportation of the portal, the two paladins and one lion were inhabiting a space completely different. Several hundred miles below them swirled the curling, frozen mist of the unnamed planet that housed the blue lion.

Keittek barely restrained a frightened jump from his seat as Lance gripped the cushioned surface with the strength of a dying man, leaning forward to stare in awe at the sphere of ice and water. Although he was miffed at Lance's actions, he could completely understand the wonder emanating off the Altean; the planet was, to simply put it, stunning.

The sight before them was so unlike the hologram that it almost seemed like another planet altogether. Much of the ice that had previously covered the surface had melted, leaving only a thin, gleaming layer that did nothing to hide the beautiful deep azure that lay beneath. Most of the water planet consisted of... well, water, with only a sparse spattering of crystalized islands. Beneath the ice, the water writhed with life, even if the source of movement couldn't be identified, and sparkles of red, green, and yellow flittered around beneath the waves, creating a shimmering, rainbow-esque glitter that covered the icy, reflective planet.

"I... I guess it's no longer uninhabited," Lance nervously whispered as he shifted around to give Keittek more breathing room, which he greatly appreciated. The half-Galra nodded in response, steering Red closer to the planet until the icy layer laid before them. Even at about a hundred meters away from the surface, the chill of the ice squirmed into their cockpit to crawl across their skin. Unlike most planets inhabiting life, there didn't seem to be any sort of atmosphere to be found. Instead, the ice looked to be replacing the atmosphere as an extra buffer between the waves and the unforgiving space.

Either way, it was cold and Keittek was already ready to get this over with. "What now?" he asked, glancing back at his Altean co-pilot.

Lance donned a teasing grin. "Not afraid to get wet, are you?"

Keittek scoffed. "Are you?"

"Nope."

"Good."

With a resounding roar of agreement, Red blasted forward and broke through the ice in a solid punch, plunging it and its passengers into the icy depths.

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

Coran waved a cheery "good luck" as he departed from the group, a bounce in his step as he traveled down the halls to the medical bay. Right where he left him, inside of a healing pod, of course, was Mattikeer. In the course of half a day, the Olkari had regained most of his former skin tone, and the twin leaves on his head had ceased their shriveling and had once again regained their former health and posture. Bags were still present under Mattikeer's large eyes, but that would disappear with rest. Otherwise, the Olkari should be up within a varga. After that, get some food in the poor boy and they could be off to retrieve the Green Lion.

The elder Altean smiled and twirled a piece of his mustache, feeling very accomplished. Even without extensive repair, the pods were working beautifully! But maybe he should check on the rest anyway. In fact, was it possible to fix a pod if someone was inhabiting it? Hmm... interesting idea, but he didn't dare to try it out then. But maybe... eventually. All in the pursuit of science, of course!

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

Once Keittek, Lance, and Coran had all splintered off to their duties, Allura visibly relaxed and let out a sigh of relief, clutching a hand to her breast.

Shiro glanced over to the young Altean. "Does Keittek bother you that much?" he asked, furrowing his brow. Allura's distrust of the half-Galra rubbed him wrong, but he had kept silent in consideration of Lance's explanation last night. However, he was now alone with the woman herself, so he had to find out her explanation.

Allura hunched her shoulders slightly and rubbed her hands together nervously as she faced him. "It's not just him," she said softly. "Right now, Lance and Coran are all I have left, and I'm worried about them. I don't want to disappoint them. As my father, King Alfor, is... dead, I have the responsibility to step up as princess. I guess that I am a little stressed right now."

"It's not just you," Shiro reminded her. "Yes, you may have a responsibility, but they also have a responsibility to help you, as your family. Allow them to help carry the burden. You also have us, even if you do not fully trust us, or Keittek, yet. We will be your paladins, and they are your family. You don't have to feel alone."

With his piece said, Shiro gave the princess a small smile. He could only hope he helped pacify some of her stress. He couldn't imagine being in her situation, but that didn't mean he would sit by and let all of it topple down on her and deal with repercussions. He was going to try and bite this in the bud before the situation between her and Keittek could get worse. "You said it wasn't just him. What's wrong with Keittek? Is it because he is half-Galra?"

Allura scrunched her face, but held back her words. Only with some prodding from Shiro did she reluctantly open up. "You... you are aware that the last black paladin is... _was_ Zarkon, correct?"

He nodded.

"Well, at first, he seemed quite amicable, if a little bloodthirsty and prone to anger. We didn't even suspect that Zarkon had his own aspirations beyond the title of paladin. So we were caught horribly off guard when he betrayed us. He... his betrayal and attacks on us and our people were _terrible._ He killed my mother as a way to get back at my father. I was very young when he did that, and his abhorrent actions didn't cease there. He _terrorized_ my people, Shiro. I'm afraid that what he and his brethren caused cannot be erased from my memory quite so easily."

Allura seemed to withdraw in on herself at the last statement, and she looked so weak in that moment that Shiro couldn't help a bit loss on how to assure her that everything would be alright because he didn't _know._ Instead, he did the next best thing he could think of.

"Well, let's get going." At her dumfounded expression—and wasn't that hard to look at because of the tears streaming down her face—he smiled. "Well, we have a lion to retrieve, don't we? Can't be wasting time on tears when we have a purple bat to defeat, can we? Oh, and I don't mean Keittek—I'm afraid he's more of a purple kitten than a purple bat."

Allura hesitantly returned the smile before leading Shiro to the docks.

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

In the crystal caves of Balmera, another shudder shook the ground, far fiercer than any quake before, and this time Hunx couldn't be restrained by Shay's arms. Their planet was about to die, and he couldn't just stand back and let the Galra tip it over the edge just for their own selfish reasons! Even Rax, the usually depressed and hopeless brother of Shay was done moping around.

These Galra may believe they have the upper hand, but there was no one else on this planet that knew Balmera's cave system better than a Balmeran.

It was time for a revolution.

-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-.-:-

 **A/N: Helllllo everybody! Sorry for the wait, but this one had some serious dialogue in it, and I have a very hard time with dialogue. Next chapter will be a doozy, with lots of action, so my goal for next chapter is 8,000 words. Wish me luck! :3**

 **Next time on DotF: Blue and Yellow Combine to Form Green!**

 **Happy Writing~!**

 **_-*Doodling Shadows**


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